1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to providing a succession of renewable golf ball hitting areas including a golf ball approach path and a golf club follow through path at opposite sides of a golf tee in a golf mat for a golf driving range and, more particularly, to a golf mat rotatably within stationary extensions on an underlying platform.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known in the art, it is a common practice to use a tee, usually made of wood, to support a golf ball above a playing field so that a golf club can be impacted with a golf ball. This mode of driving a golf ball is practiced at a teeing area as well as at a driving range, for example. The extent of adjustment to the height of the golf ball above the playing field is limited by the height of the tee and the soil conditions, which govern the length of the shank of the tee extending beneath the golf ball support surface, which must penetrate the earth to obtain a stable support. A golf ball tee of this type is inexpensive and constructed so that it can be lost without usually any desire to recover the tee in the event the tee is dislodged from the playing surface upon impact with the golf club. At a driving range where golfers practice driving golf balls for distance and accuracy, the golf ball is usually supported by a permanent structure generally level either with the playing field or at a fixed height above it. The golfer cannot vary the height at which the golf ball is supported above the playing field. It is desirable to practice driving techniques to simulate driving golf balls both from the tee box where the golf ball is usually located above the playing field as well as from a fairway and of course sometimes, in the taller grass in the rough where a golf ball tee should not be used and thus the golf ball must be hit while supported by the playing field.
In the course of practice golf ball driving swings, the artificial turf surrounding the golf ball tee at a driving range undergoes wear and tear due to contact between the turf and the golf club and contact between the golf ball and the turf. The area subject to such wear and tear is predominately limited to a golf ball hitting area made up of a golf club approach path and a golf club follow through path, which is intercepted by a golf tee. The wear and tear to the golf ball hitting area is not only unsightly but the abrading of the artificial turf degrades the simulation of hitting on natural turf. The artificial turf rapidly degrades with repeated clubs miss hits occurring as the golf club head has a descending motion downwardly on to the turf at a site rearward of the location of the golf ball on the supporting golf ball tee. U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,396 discloses a golf practice mat with a thick foam rubber base supporting artificial grass carpet so that when a golf ball on the carpet surface is struck, the carpet can slide a limited distance to absorb the force of the club. The desire is to lessen the reaction force on the golfer's hands and arms. The elastic biasing force on the practice mat returns the carpet to its original position after the completion of the practice swing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,409 discloses a golf practice mat having three sections in a spaced relation. Each section is provided with a removable mat and the simulated grass in each section corresponds to different grassy conditions likely to be encountered on a golf course. U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,847 discloses a golf practice device incorporating a discrete divot portion, which permits dislodgement and flight away of the divot portion from the practice device to simulate the striking of a golf ball in the fairway of a golf course. Such known golf practice devices are not only expensive to procure and maintain, but also provide only single purpose practice aspects to the game of golf. These devices are also subject to extreme wear and tear necessitating frequent costly replacement.
A need therefore exists for a more versatile golf mat having a player surface, which can be indexed, into positions for renewing a worn practice area each containing a golf ball tee.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf mat with a support area for a golfer and a continuous outer peripheral margin to the player surface containing spaced apart golf hitting areas each provided with a golf ball tee and moveable so that the hitting areas can be moved into a predetermined golf ball hitting location.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a golf mat with a playing surface on a resilient carrier pad supported by a platform form for rotary indexing of spaced apart golf ball hitting locations each containing a golf ball tee into a position for impact between a golf club with a golf ball on the tee.